Sanur Beach Hotel Cleans up its Act
Following media reports exposing Sanur hotels as dumping tons
of sewerage into the ocean, the Sanur Beach Hotel has now
cleaned up its act according to executive assistant manager
Putu Bawa. Pipes that once led to the Tukad Loloan estuary
have been severed, and the waste water is now being pumped
into mega-septic tanks. According to engineer A.A. Arianta
the hotel produced in excess of 800 cubic meters of waste
water each day. (June 4th 2007, Radar Bali)
Six Year Old Girl Falls to Her Death on Shopping
Mall Escalator - Surabaya
Six year old Livya Mudita Dewi fell 13 meters to her death
at the ITC Mega Grosir mall in Surabaya on Sunday (3/6). According
to eye witnesses the girl fell down three levels of the escalator
stair well while she was playing on the moving stairs. Livya
sustained serious head injuries, and was immediately rushed
to hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. Livya had
been left unattended by her family who were shopping in the
mall. Her father Chem Fuk said he had not been concerned about
his daughter playing on the stairs as she had often done so
in the past. (June 4th 2007, Jawa Pos)
British Petroleum Plans Bio-Fuel
Project in Indonesia
British Petroleum is planning a bio-fuel project in Indonesia
aimed at meeting future demand for cleaner energy, the company
said Wednesday (6/6). “The plan is still at an early
stage. We want to look at existing regulations and how the
government will support the bio-fuel industry here,”
British Petroleum spokesperson Niko Kanter was quoted by AFP
as saying. Kanter was accompanying the president of BP’s
global bio fuels business, Philip New, in a meeting with Energy
and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro. Separately,
the secretary of the government’s bio-energy team, Evita
Legowo, said BP is interested in building a bio-fuel plant,
using sugar cane and jatropha as raw materials. Legowo added
that BP is currently in talks with state-owned plantation
and trading firm Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI) as its
potential local partner for the project. Indonesia is embarking
on an ambitious biofuel program which has already attracted
more than 17 billion dollars in foreign and domestic investment.
(June 5th 2007, Antara News)
Indonesia Walks Down Sesame Street
Sesame Street, the popular American children’s TV show,
is to make its debut in a specially-produced Indonesian version,
with new characters including two depicting endangered animals.
The program is expected to begin broadcasts later this yaer.
The show will adopt many familiar elements of local culture,
featuring singing in local dialects and the use of traditional
musical instruments. Funds are being provided by the US Agency
for International Development out of a total $157m pledged
in 2003 for education in Indonesia. John Heffern, charge d’affaires
at the US embassy in Jakarta, said the show would allow “learning
in a fun and creative way” carrying messages on hygiene
and health, and the importance of girls’ education.
The six-year US-funded education program includes the upgrading
of 3,000 schools across Indonesia aimed at tackling widespread
health problems and poverty. (May 31st 2007, Reuters)
Australian DJ Arrested on Drug Charges in Bali
Police in Bali say it is too early to say if charges will
be laid against an Australian DJ arrested in Bali over drugs
offences. Nicholas Bernard Taylor, 41, was arrested on the
Indonesian resort island at the weekend. Taylor was taken
into custody when police raided a party at a private villa
close to Kerobokan prison where convicted Australian drug
traffickers Schapelle Corby and members of the Bali Nine are
jailed. Bali Provincial Police spokesman Antonius Reniban
said police expected to make further arrests. He confirmed
there were other foreigners in custody at Bali’s police
headquarters. Media reports said he was one of three foreigners
arrested on suspicion of possessing a small amount of hashish,
heroin and cocaine, but police declined to confirm the drug
types and quantities today. (June 12th 2007, The Courier)
President Calls on Religious Groups to Improve
Environment - Waisak Message
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on religious communities
in the country to improve the environment as it would have
a valuable investment for the future life of the nation. There
is a demand in every religion to preserve the environment,
the head of state said during a commemoration of the Waisak
Day or Buddha`s Day of Enlightenment at the Borobudur Temple
here on Friday night (1/6). According to the president, religions
deal not only with relations among human beings, between human
beings and God, but also between human beings and the environment.
He pointed out that environmental conservation became an important
agenda because the earth might be angry due to a damaged environment.
(June 2nd 2007, Antara News)
Indonesian Man Faces Jail for Terrorism Web Site
A student could be jailed for eight years for making a Web
site that encouraged Indonesians to carry out terrorist attacks
against foreigners, a court heard Wednesday (30/6). Prosecutors
told the court that Agung Prabowo, 24, created the Web site
that suggested targets in the Indonesian capital frequented
by foreigners for attacks and the best escape routes for those
executing them. The Web site was also used by extremists to
communicate with each other in 2005, prosecutor Suroto told
the court in Semarang in Central Java. Prabowo allegedly created
the Web site with Abdul Aziz, before Aziz was convicted for
his role in the 2005 Bali bombings that killed 20 people plus
the three suicide attackers, the Detikcom news portal said.
(May 30th 2007, MET Times)
Several Injured in False Tsunami Alarm in Aceh Besar
Panic struck people here at around 10.30am on Monday (4/6)
after a tsunami warning system in Kajhu, Baitussalam, Aceh
Besar, set off an alarm which later proved to be false. Thousands
of people in Banda Aceh and Kajhu tried to flee to safer places,
some of them on motor bikes or cars, causing traffic jams.
Several people were injured in minor accidents during the
chaos. The pandemonium which lasted around two hours was finally
put under control after police were able to assure the public
that no tsunami had occurred. The head of the Meteorology
and Geohphysics Agency office in Mata Ie, Aceh Besar, Syahnan,
said he did not know what had caused the tsunami warning system
to sound an alarm. However, he believed it was caused by a
network breakdown. (June 4th 2007, Antara News)
Komodo Dragon Kills Boy, 8, in Indonesia
A Komodo dragon attacked and killed an 8-year-old boy in eastern
Indonesia, the first recorded deadly attack on a human by
one of the giant lizards in 33 years, a national park spokesman
said Monday (4/6). The boy was mauled when he went to go to
the bathroom behind a bush Saturday (2/6) on Komodo Island,
Heru Rudiharto said. Rudiharto said the lizards had been living
side-by-side with the 1,200 people on Komodo with no fatal
incident for 33 years. “Perhaps the lizards’ natural
prey has decreased because we are entering the dry season
and there has been too much deer hunting,” he said.
Komodos can grow to a length of 10 feet and weigh up to 365
pounds. Thousands of tourists visit Komodo each year to see
the lizards in their natural habitat. They are normally shown
around the arid and rocky island by guides who carry large,
forked sticks to ward of the lizards. (June 4th 2007, Antara
News)
Eight year old Boy Beaten to Death by
Classmate - Denpasar
Eight year old Kadek Adi was beaten to death by his classmate
Doni at the Pemecutan primary school on Tuesday (6/6). Kadek
was beaten about the head during the school break time when
the children were left unattended as the teachers were attending
a meeting. Adi began to vomit and lose consciousness shortly
afterwards and was then rushed to Sanglah hospital where he
became comatose and died at 5pm that afternoon. Nine year
old Doni, who has been known to be an aggressive child, has
been grounded at his Pemecutan home and is facing a 10 year
jail sentence. (June 11th 2007, Bali Post)
Two Indonesian Planes Forced Down
Two planes belonging to separate Indonesian airlines were
forced to make emergency landings on Wednesday (6/6) after
developing technical problems in mid air, officials said.
A Boeing 737-300 of Garuda Indonesia’s Citilink unit
from Jakarta heading for Batam near Singapore was forced to
land in Palembang, South Sumatra, after a faulty cargo door
seal resulted in a drop in cabin pressure, Garuda spokesman
Singgih Handoyo said. Later in the day, a Boeing 737-200 of
private company Batavia Air was forced to return to the airport
in Semarang, Central Java, 30 minutes after heading for Jakarta,
an official from the airport’s operational centre said.
“The pilot cited engine troubles but a detailed report
has not yet been filed to us,” the official, who only
identified himself as Yudho, said. No passengers were injured
in either of the incidents. (June 6th 2007, AFP)
Indonesia Arrests Suspected Terrorist
Indonesian anti-terror police have arrested a man they believe
is a follower of wanted terrorist leader Abu Dujana whose
group is accused of the Bali bombings, police say. “There
was a team on the field which conducted a raid and an arrest...
Mahfud, alias Yusron, is believed to be an acolyte of Abu
Dujana,” National Police spokesman Sisno Adi Winoto
said. He said Mahfud was wounded when he was captured on Saturday
(9/6) morning at a house in Kebarongan village in the Central
Java district of Banyumas. Indonesian police have said that
Abu Dujana led a military wing of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)
terrorism network. (June 10th 2007, AFP)
Balinese Deer on Brink of Extinction
The population of Balinese deer (cervus Timorensi, sp) in
the West Bali National Park (TNBB) has dwindled so drastically
that the species is now on the brink of extinction, a park
officer said. The reduction in the number of existing Balinese
deer was caused by the shrinking of their habitat and poaching,
Kahmad, a TNBB staff member, said Wednesday (6/6). “Today
there are only 10 Balinese deer in the park compared to 100
a decade ago,” Kahmad said in Gilimanuk. TNBB officers
had been continuously patrolling protected forest areas but
poachers had kept on trespassing to steal Balinese deer from
the park, he said. Beautiful deer horns fetched very high
prices in Bali`s black animal market, he added. (June 6th
2007, Antara News)
Bali to Host 5th Indonesian Arts Festival
Bali is expected to host the 5th Arts Festival to be organized
by the Indonesian Arts Institutes` Cooperation Board which
will for the first time invite a number of foreign universities,
a rector has said. “The arts festival has so far only
involved seven institutes in the country, and since the upcoming
organization of the event in Bali, the organizing committee
will involve foreign participants,” Rector of the Indonesian
Arts Institute (ISI) in Denpasar, Prof Dr I Wayan Rai said
here Sunday (10/6). He said the arts festival which is scheduled
to take place from November 21 to 25, 2007, will also include
an international seminar featuring experts in arts and cultures
from Europe, Australia, the United States and Asian countries.
(June 10th 2007, Antara News)
Indonesia Seeks Apology from Australia after
Sutiyoso Summoned
Indonesia has demanded an explanation from Australia after
Sydney police tried to deliver a summons to a visiting Indonesian
politician in his hotel room, according to an Indonesian official.
Sutiyoso, the governor of Jakarta, said on Wednesday (30/5)
that police used a master key to enter his hotel room during
an official trip to Sydney this week.The retired military
general demanded an apology, saying police entered his room
with a subpoena requesting that he give evidence at an inquest
into the death of an Australia-based journalist in East Timor
in 1975. Sutiyoso served in the military for three decades
and was part of Indonesia’s occupation of the half-island
nation however he denied he played any role in the killings.
Sutiyoso said: “I did not go to Balibo, my troops were
not in Balibo. I was in another place but not Balibo.”
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Indonesian president, was “surprised”
at the incident and expected that Australia would clarify
the matter, his spokesman said. The Australian embassy stressed
that police had not been acting on behalf of the Australian
government in requesting he give evidence. Several hundred
people, mainly members of youth groups, rallied outside the
embassy in Jakarta over the incident, calling for it to be
burnt down, amid tight security. They chanted: “Get
out, get out Australia” and sang the Indonesian national
anthem. An embassy official later met with protest leaders
before the crowd dispersed. (May 31st 2007, AFP)
Holocaust Survivor Attends Bali Meeting
A Jewish Holocaust survivor made a plea for tolerance Tuesday
(12/6) at a conference in the world’s most populous
Muslim nation that also brought together religious leaders
and victims of attacks by Islamic extremists. “I hope
people will learn from the past,” said Sol Teichman,
79, who lost 70 family members during the holocaust, was a
teenager living in Czechoslovakia when his city was occupied
first by the Hungarian army and then the Germans. “We
should try to improve life instead of destroying it.”
He said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s decision
to host a conference in December questioning whether the Holocaust
took place made him want to “push a little harder to
meet Muslim leaders.” The daylong gathering in Bali
was attended by high-profile moderate Indonesian Muslim leaders,
including former president Indonesian Abdurraham Wahid, and
Hindu spiritual head Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Victims of a terrorist
attack in Israel and of suicide bombings by Muslim militants
on Bali in 2005 were among participants. “It’s
up to us to bring religion back to its original intention:
to underline the importance of finding shared values,”
said Yenny Wahid, the daughter of the former president and
herself a prominent supporter of liberal Islam. The conference
was sponsored by the Libforall Foundation; a U.S. based non-governmental
organization that seeks to counter Muslim extremism in the
Islamic world by supporting religious moderates. (June 12th
2007, the News Tribune)
